One of the more disappointing developments for the Atlanta Braves this season has been the performance of the bullpen.

Raisel Iglesias has turned things around and it certainly looks like the Braves may have struck gold with Tyler Kinley, but Atlanta’s bullpen overall ranks just 24th in all of baseball by fWAR and that is with Iglesias, Kinley, and Pierce Johnson holding things down in the second half.

The Braves clearly have noticed and, if the rumors are true, they may be giving one of their top relief prospects a chance to showcase what he’s got.

Jhancarlos Lara has long intrigued followers of the Braves’ farm system primarily due to the fact that his fastball/slider combo is some of the best pure stuff in Atlanta’s minor league ranks even if the command has left a lot to be desired.

Lara has attempted to dialed back the fastball velo a bit to throw more strikes, but the results have been mixed.

That said, there is no denying what Lara could be if he can rein his stuff in.

According to longtime Braves prospect writer Gaurav Vedak, it appears as though the Braves are finally giving Lara a shot at the major leagues. As to what role he would play in the big leagues, that is a bit trickier to predict at the moment.

Braves Rumors: Whispers growing that Atlanta will promote Jhancarlos Lara, although the timing is a little odd

It is still very early and we don’t yet have official confirmation that Lara is getting promoted to the big leagues, so this could end up being nothing.

That said, as someone who was Vedak’s boss for years and knows the connections he has in the minor leagues, I can safely say that whatever source Gaurav has is a real source and he definitely heard this was happening from someone that matters.

Given that and the fact that Vedak has been around forever and doesn’t have a track record of spreading fiction, the odds are good that Lara is getting called up.

That said, the timing of a promotion here is pretty odd.

There was certainly a stretch of the 2025 season where Lara was making a strong case for a call-up especially when Atlanta’s bullpen was at their lowest point. Calling up Lara now when he has 10.02 ERA over his last 20.2 innings of work with just a few days left in the season is weird. That said, the strikeout numbers have remained strong and perhaps this is a sign that the Braves are finally making a long desired change.

For a long time, Atlanta has tried to make Lara work as a rotation arm and with his kind of raw stuff, it was a worthy gamble to at least try.

Perhaps what we are seeing here is the Braves wanting to begin his shift to the bullpen where his stuff would play up in one inning stints compared to the multi-inning outings he made all September in the minors.

Time will tell if Lara is getting the call and what role he will play in the big leagues, but things are getting interesting as the 2025 season winds down.